Expansible shoe form



Marh12,1929. w DE'WWT 1,704,693

EXPANSIBLE SHOE FORM Filed Aug. 23, 1927 vPatent Mar.. 12, 1929.l

wien startte eletti-.f

wrLLiAi/i J. :on wirr, on AUBURN, NEwYoRK, essieiionro riinlsiioii renin' co. ino.,`

or AUBURN, nizwv Yoan, 'A CORPORATION on `new YORK.

` nXrANsiBLn siion roma.

Appiicatian' ma August 2s, 1927. serial No. 214,897.

rFhis invention relates to shoe *forms characterized by beinghollow iii form vand light in weight, and which are also capable of being contracted (asupon insertion into the shoe) and then expanded. l.

The foi-ni includes generally'a hollow toe member made of vsuitably resilient material, such as molded sheet Celluloid, having inwardly directed-marginal edges adjacent' to the sole, upon which may be mounted an eX-l pansion (and contraction) element. It may also include a reinforcing cross piece which yis permanently Vattached to one of the edges and slidably engages the opposite edge.

invention is 'shown by the accompanying illustrations, in which: I f v Fig. 1 is a bottom view of a shoe form made in accordance with the invention;

Fig.'` 2 is a longitudinal cross section of a shoe with the form fitted therein; Y

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross section of the slideway and slide shown in Fig. 1 ;`y u i Fig. l is a bottom viewof a shoe forni similarrto that in Fig. 1, with the reinforcing` cross piece removed; Y v.

F 5 is an enlarged elevationof a modified form of slideway of .Celluloid with a slide member thereon; y v v i Fig. is an enlarged elevation of a further modified Lforni of slideway of celluloid hav-V ing a slide'member thereon and a reinforcing wire therein; A r A Fig. 7 is a bottom view, with parts broken away, or a modification;

8 isa sideview oftheslideway and Sila@ cringe;

Fig. 9 is a bottom view of ai'urther modification of the shoe form in whichthe slideway comprises a slot; i y

Fig. 10 is a sectionalview of thekslide and slot shown in Figui 9; A

Fig. 11 is a cross section of onei'forin of the crosspiece shown in (Fig.A 1') and I' Y Fig. 12 is a cross section of a modified form of cross piece having a iller strip therein.

In' the drawings, the toe memberl lits within the toe of the shoef2 and is forced into position therein by an expanding (and contracting) element 3,'which lcomprises cross-wires 4, 5. which are attached to vthe toe member, and a compressionl member 7, which bears against the heel Gioi the shoe. The toev member llis hollow and may be conveniently fashioned rom'sheet celluloid or other shaperetaining, resilient material and is provided' with longitudinal marginal edges 8, 9 which are'turned inalong the sidesoi' the toe member and are adapted to lie upon the insole of the shoe 2 when in position. Each of these marginal edges isprovided, in the rear portion with a slideway (11,12) which may con sist of anarched wire 13 riveted to the edge'v its ends as at 14,' 15 and forming a substan-` tially horizontal slidewayalong its intermediate-portion 16. y v 1 1 The cross-wires 4, 5 are pivoted at their forward ends 17, 18, respectively, to the forward portions of the marginal edges 8, 9, and at A typical and preferred embodiment of thetheirv rea-r ends carry 'slide members 19,20 (shown as rings) which slidably engage ,the slideways k12,-11 respectively, as by looping aboutthein (Fig. 3) intermediate their ends, as at 16. At the.p ointofintersection of the cross-wires 4, 5, a slide member engagesthem, `such as the ring 22 on'tlie end'of thecompression strip 7. The lattermay be made of a stiiiiy resilient material such -as steel wire and extends rearwardly to engage the heel 6 of theshoe2. 'f Mounted transversely of the toe member is acrosspieoe 23 which may be laminated .and

l aia-@93 i Vfashioned vfrom two. strips oic celluloid-24, 25, l

cementedtogether intermediate the ends', re-

ceiving oneVv of Athe marginalv edges 8 :therebetween at one end (to which tliey'ai'e perma? nently aiilxedas by cement) and at the other n end receiving the opposite imargin .9 in the mayalso have a iller strip 27 inserted there,-

space 26 therebetween,with a freely slidablejr lengagement (see Fig. 11). V,The strips 24,25, QQ y between, intermediate of the ends, to which bothot the strips 24,25 are attached as cement (see Fig. 12) thus spacing' these strips apart by an amount equal to the thickness or themarginal edges 8, 9. f In use,-the shoe form (with the sidewalls of the toeinember .slightly contracted) isV vthrust into thetoe oit the `shoe, and4 the com-l pression strip 7 bent sufficiently to permitits Ytree'end to be introduced in'tothe shoe andv f f then allowed to springback againsttherheel 6 (Fig. 2). .Thisy thrust l of lthe form into the shoe andthe continued thrust oi the compression member is'tran'sniitted to the cross-wires ico ll, 5. of which the forward ends are thrust di` '.ffectly forward, pushing the toe member firml into the toe or the shoe whilethe rear Y Y i .9.

portion ot each of the .ciosswvires-, 5, tends.

to swing about thesepivotedV forward ends' as a fulcrum (urged by the thrust of the compression strip transmitted through the sliding thrust firmly forward into the toe of the shoe and has thus vfilled out and developedthe upper of the shoe to its full length,a feature which is especially desirable in the display of footwear generally.

For the withdrawal of the shoe form from the shoe, the compression member 7 is first bent sufiiciently to permit the release of its rear end from the heel of the shoe. It is then drawn straight back. rflic-ring 22 is thus made to slide back on cross-wires 4, 5 drawing theirrear ends together and thus contracting the toe member of the form and permitting it to'be easily removed from the shoe. vThe slideways 11, 12 maybe attached to the marginal edges, as described,vwhen made of metal, but they may also be fashioned from Celluloid or the like. 1n this case, theymay be attached to the marginal edges of the toe member by cementing or fusing the ends to the'surface of the marginal edges as at 28, 29, (Fig. 5,).` This may also be done when the intermediate portion 16 is made of Celluloid and contains a reinforcing metal wire 16 embedded therein as shown in Fig. 6. Inthese forms, the slide members of the cross wires adapted to engage the s'lidew'ays 11, 12,-may consist of the end of the wire, passed below the slideway andv bent upwardly at its freev end, as at 21-in Figsg7 and 8 thus'preventing retraction. Y

As a further modification of the forms thus described, the slideways 11', 12 may bereplaced'by longitudinalslots 11', 12 (Fig. 9) in the'marginal edges of the .toe member and the'slide members 19, 20, may be upwardly disposed projections orthe bent up ends of thecross-wires 4, 5, slidably to engage said slots, as 'shown in Fig. 10. 1

1t will be clear from the above disclosure thatr other modifications in the arrangement and'construction of the several parts may be made', Vwithin the invention, but such modifications are to be understood as comprehended by the above specification and included within vthe terms of the following claims.

I claim:v l Y v 1. A shoe forni, comprising a resilient, holl low, toe member having slideways, inturned 'marginal strips along the sides ofthe toe ,membeig expansion and contraction means engaging the sli'deways, and a compression member adapted to bear against the heel of 'the shoe' andv to expand said means longitudinally and laterally of the 'shoe when under compression and to contract upon being released. l f

2. A shoe form, comprising a hollow toe member, a pair of cross-wires positioned therein, one end of each of VVsaid cross-wires being pivoted to the toe member, a. slide memlber on the freeend of'eacli of said cross- -wires, slideways on'the toe members to receive therslide members, and a compression member slidably engaging the cross-wires adjacent to their intersection.

3. A shoe form, comprisinga toe member, marginal strips thereon, a pair of crosswii'es, the wires being pivotally attached at their forward ends tothe forward portion-ofthe marginal strips, slidemembers on the rear ends of the wires, slideways on therear portion of the marginal strips to receive the slide members, anda compression member slidably engaging the cross-wiresk adjacent to their intersection. y

4. A shoe form, comprising a toe member,

inturned marginal strips alongthefsides .thereof,vlongitudinal slideways in the rear yportion of the inturned strips, a' pairof cross-wires pivoted at their forward ends to the forward port-ion of *the marginal strips a compression member slidably vreceivingV said cross-wires adjacent to their intersection and extending rearwardly to beargagainst the heel of the shoe 6. A shoe form comprising a resilient, hollow, toe'member, inturned marginal strips along the opposite sides the'reof,ei pansion and contraction means lconnected-.to said iioY strips, Va compression member connected to said means, to expand. and contract the same laterally of the shoe, and a transverse memberaftixedto one of the marginal strips.v and slidably engaging the opposite'strip'.

7.` A'shoe form comprising a resilient, hollow,'toe member, inturned marginal strips along the'opposite sides thereof, expansion and contraction means connected tosaidv strips, a. compression member `connected to said means, to expand and contract` said means laterally of the-shoe, and va laminated transverse member afhx'ed to oneof the marginal strips and slidablyfengaging thefopposite vstrip between said laminations.

8; Ashoe form, comprising a resilient hollow, toevmember, inturned marginal strips 'alongthe opposite sides thereof, av` pair of cross-wires attached to the marginal edges at 011e end and slidably engaging said edges at their opposite ends, a compression member attached to said cross-wires adjacent to their intersection, and a transverse member yattached to one of said strips and slidably engaging the opposite strip.

9. A shoe form, 'comprising a hollow resilient toe member, inturned marginal strips on the opposite sides thereof, slideways on said strips, a pair of cross-Wires attached to the marginal strips at the forward ends and slidably engaging said strips vafi-'their opposite ends, a compression member attached to said cross-wires adjacent to their intersection, and a transverse piece affixed to one 'of the strips, tlie other` end being split, slidably v to receive the other marginal strip therebetween.

and a transverse piece permanently attached to one of the marginal edges and frictionally engaging the opposite strip.l

l1.- A shoe form, comprising a hollowtoe member, inturned marginal strips on the opposite sides thereof, expansion and contracy tion means engaging said marginal edges,`

and a laminated'cross piece permanently attached to one of tlie'marginal edges and'slidably engaging the *opposite edgebetween its laminations.

Signed by me at Boston,Mass., thisQlQthl i day of August, 1927, p

VVILLIKAlVIV J. DE WITT. 

